Page 109 of The CEO I Hate

Tears welled behind my eyes again. God! Was I ever going to be finished crying over this man? His message made my heart ache for him, but at the same time, I had to remind myself those werejustwords.

Liam was full of words. He could spin them any way he wanted and call me special, but when we’d actually been together, he’d never treated me like I was special. His actions were what really mattered.

He’d spent the entirety of our relationship proving to me thatIdidn’t matter enough to come first in his long list of priorities. So nomatter how sweet he was being now, I couldn’t let myself forget that.

I’m sure the kids will enjoy them, I wrote.Thanks for the donation.

Can we talk?he wrote.Maybe meet for a coffee?

I answered,I don’t think so.

Mia…please.

I swallowed hard. I had to admit there was a part of me that wanted to say yes. Maybe this time, things would be better. Maybe this time…

But no. I couldn’t let myself be swayed by one grand, silly gesture. In the end, what had Liam actually done? Just shelled out some money, as if that would fix things. He hadn’t apologized, hadn’t told me he’d changed, hadn’t done a thing to show me that a relationship between us would be different if we tried again. And if all I was going to get was more of the same, then no. Hard pass. The first viewing was bad enough—I didn’t need reruns. I picked up the phone to send him one last text.

There’s nothing else to talk about.

37

LIAM

Brace for impact.

Those were the only words ricocheting in my head as I hit send on my phone. I released a pent-up breath, curling my hand around my coffee cup as I sat back in my chair at Beans & Brews, the place where Mia had ripped me apart for cutting in line. I’d been served by the same barista who had given me such a hard time after.

She’d clearly recognized me, eyeing me up like she was considering spitting in my cup. Thinking back on that day now, on Mia’s fiery temper, I missed the hell out of her, and all I wanted was for this plan to work.

I didn’t know if this was the right move, but I knew I had to try something. I’d screwed up, and I’d lost her, and even though a part of me worried that she’d truly moved on, my mother’s words echoed in my head.

You need to take a leap of faith…If you love her…If she’s who you really want?—

Mia was the one, beyond all doubts. I had to believe I could fix this. Iwanted so many good things for her, but I also wanted to be the one to make her happy. All I needed was for her to give me a chance.

Just one more chance.

I looked down at my phone, my insides roiling.Please work. Please.

The chat bubbles appeared. Yes!

I bit down on the nerves surging through me. My heart was going to punch through my chest. And maybe I’d deserve that for the mess I’d made. For the shitty way I’d treated her.

The bubbles disappeared. Wait! No…Where did she go?

The bubbles appeared again.

Disappeared.

Disappointment surged through me. If I couldn’t even get her to talk to me, this would never work. Then?—

A single question mark from Mia.

Relief ate away at the disappointment, filling me with a dangerous amount of hope. It wasn’t much, but it was enough for me to work with. I snatched my phone up, prepared to answer, but another text came through a second later.

What the hell is this?Mia wrote.

A calendar invite, I replied.